This is an especially fun shoot to post to the blog because it reminds me of Christmas. The first five photos are like a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift, and at the end, you get to see the wonderful present that was hiding inside. The analogy breaks down pretty quickly after that, though–please don’t go shaking any pregnant women to try to figure out the baby’s gender.
We took the first five photos of Joy at her maternity session back in December (when we actually were getting ready for Christmas). Here are a few of our favorites:

“Screw ‘positively glowing’, I want to look hot!”
-Not anything Joy said to us at any point, just to be clear

As wonderful as pregnancy is (I can say that because I’ve never had a small child drive their heel into my bladder from inside my body), it’s the present at the end that we’re all looking forward to, and here she is!

If you have a baby who’s ready for delivery, or one who’s already here and you’d like to capture this magical time, contact us about booking a shoot today.

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This past Sunday, Freeway Music held their Fall Music Showcase at the new Music Farm here in Columbia. All told, there were over 100 different performers, with students and instructors singing, playing guitar, bass, drums, violin, mandolin, keyboards, saxophone, ukulele, and most likely some other things that I’ve forgotten. It was awesome. First off, the Music Farm is a fantastic venue. I’m so glad that Columbia finally has a great mid-sized music venue with fantastic sound. Last yearwhen we photographed the showcase, I got up and played bass on Counting Crows’ “Hanginaround”. This year, I opted out of playing so that I could focus solely on the photography, but after seeing the venue (and how much fun everybody was having), I’m kind of wishing I’d gotten on stage.

In case you’re not familiar with Freeway Music, they offer a wide range of music lessons (see above) to a wide range of folks, from wee rockers to folks who decided it was finally time to take up the drums after the kids moved out. I’d been playing bass for almost ten years when I started taking lessons from Don a couple of years ago and I’m sure I’ve grown more musically in those two years than in the ten before that. The point is, wherever you are in your musical journey, I highly recommend the teachers at Freeway.

That said, on to a small selection of the many, many photos from Sunday!

Well, now the family is growing with the addition of Peter…and his family is growing with the addition of Ana…so everybody wins.

It was a gorgeous day in Charleston for photos but it was also a little chilly (at least for South Carolina), so we kind of had Peter and Ana snuggle up a good bit. They were such good sports about it–Peter didn’t seem to mind wrapping his arms around Ana one bit.

I’m not going to say that Halloween is the best holiday–but here at Lumos Studio, Wendy and I are very, very fond of it. In light of this fact, here are 7 reasons that you should love it, too.

1) You learn new things about your friends

On Halloween, people often show a side of themselves that they otherwise wouldn’t. Maybe it’s their inner bloodthirsty cannibal, or maybe it’s that they still have Soundgarden t-shirts and flannels that they’ve been stashing since the 90’s. Whatever, man, it’s Halloween, let your freak flag fly.

This Halloween I learned that my wife looks fantastic in green…like, a lot of green.

Eat your heart out, Chris Pratt.

I also learned that if you wear a Star Lord costume, the most impressive part to men of a certain age will be that you have an actual, functioning Walkman.

2) It’s crafty

Let’s start with the most obvious. At Halloween, it’s not only accepted, but expected that you’ll take a fruit, cut a hole in it, scoop out its guts (parts of which you may or may not toast and eat), then carve its flesh into the likeness of a person, place, or thing, then set a fire in it, and place it in front of your house.

We bucked tradition this year by running out of time for all that carving stuff, and instead Wendy drew a mural on our kitchen wall. (What, you didn’t do that?)

3. Adorable kids

On Halloween super-cute kids just show up on your doorstep without any expectation that you’ll clothe them, teach them right from wrong, or pay for a college education. All they want is candy–a small price to pay for not having to change diapers.

And speaking of candy…

4. There’s candy

I would have taken a picture of Halloween candy to include here but, um, I, uh, handed it all out. Yeah…the children ate it. That’s what I’m going with.

5. You get to be someone else for a night

Sometimes life can get a little humdrum. People have expectations of you and if you don’t live up to them, well, there are social ramifications. But on Halloween, you don’t have to be you, you can be someone else…

Super-Family isn’t afraid to mix DC and Marvel heroes!

6. We get to mock our fears

Sometimes it seems like our whole culture runs on fear: fear that we’re getting older, fear that we’re not as successful as we ought to be, fear that other people have more friends than us, are better looking than us, are having more fun than us, fear that we’ll get toxins in our non-GMO cereal and that people whose political beliefs are different from our own are going to destroy the planet…
Sometimes we need to look at all that crap, own it, and just laugh.

Day of the dapper dead.

7) Fellowship with friends & neighbors

Finally, as we become more and more insulated as a culture, I’m glad there’s still a holiday where we’re encouraged to wander around our neighborhood and knock on our neighbors’ doors. For a lot of us, it’s the only time we’ll see most of our neighbors face to face all year. Also, Halloween is a great chance to hang out with friends and take photos of their kids.

You could have a multi-generational meetup, such as Padme and Princess Leia. (Do you see the family resemblance?)

You might also run into Tim Tebow and a trucker…who has lost his hat…and his radio. Look, it’s a long road–let’s just be glad he’s awake.

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Cris and Rosey had their wedding on Folly Beach on the second weekend of October. Given that this is South Carolina, the weather was gorgeous and I still managed to get a sunburn. It was totally worth it, though!

Rosey, being a perfectly sane person, slept in on her wedding day, then lounged around in her pajamas while drinking mimosas and…wait, no. No. That’s not what she did at all. First, she got up at dawn and went for a jog…

…then she went out on the beach and did some yoga. You know, like ya’ do.

Rosemary’s sisters joined her in her beach yoga which I think shows a tremendous, tremendous amount of love.

But hey, at least you can always count on the guys to laze around the morning of the wedding, I mean, if they’re even awake. Cris is probably just stumbling out of bed–maybe going to play some video games before he…

Nope. He’s surfing. I didn’t even know you could surf at Folly Beach, but apparently where’s there’s a will, there’s a wave.

Thanks, kid, I’ll be here all week.

Eventually, though, it was time to pack in the board and go get married.

Surely at this point Rosey has settled down for some coffee or maybe…

…she’s pointing her toe at the sky as though mocking physiology itself.

I’m just cutting back to adorable baby at this point in order to show a photograph of someone I feel convinced I could take in a foot race.

Seriously, though, Rosey, it’s time to get dressed. There’s a wedding to have! You’ve got to…

…do some planks before getting into your gown.

Fine, I’m just going to go take photos of the rings.

Well, eventually, everybody did decide to come in off the beach and get this wedding started.

I love this face from Cris. Some folks look nervous during the ceremony. Not these two. (I don’t know, maybe it’s the yoga.)

After the ceremony, it was just a great time of hanging out with friends and family.

…and a little dancing on the beach.

Cris and Rosey, as much as your incredibly healthy lifestyles are an inspiration, your love is even moreso. Wendy and I have loved spending time with you guys and wish you all the best in this new adventure.

If you’re not Cris or Rosey, you can tell them how beautiful they are in the comment box below, or you can check out some other weddings from people who aren’t quite so bendy.